E. BVSD Manages The Grant Money

Transcription

1 E. BVSD Manages The Grant Money GRANTS GUIDE BVSD is the fiscal agent for all grants to schools, departments or the district as a whole. Only BVSD has the legal status to receive grant funds individual schools do not. BVSD also bears ultimate responsibility for accounting for the money and fulfilling the terms of the grant. All grants are included in BVSD s annual financial audit. EXCEPTIONS: 1. Grants written by PTA s or other nonprofit organizations on behalf of a school or the district. However, if such a grant is used to employ personnel (e.g. a new position, expansion of an existing position, extra-duty pay, overtime, or substitute time) it must be handled by the district to ensure proper payroll deductions and procedures. See Section F below. 2. Private-sector grants made to charter schools may be managed by the school itself. Grants from governmental entities to charters must be managed by BVSD.! If you receive a check in payment of a grant, forward it to the district Accounting Office with a note, indicating what it is for and your contact information. If you have followed the review process outlined above, by the time you hear that you have received a grant, the Accounting Department will already have your budget and you will usually be able to start spending funds within days of the award. You may be issued a Pro-Card (district credit card) so that you can easily make purchases. Payment of salaries and benefits under a grant is handled, as usual, by the BVSD payroll office. To get account codes for grants that have already been approved and awarded, contact Christine Kennedy in the Accounting Department. Grants are usually accounted for separately (i.e. not co-mingled with General Fund or school budgets, and not put in the school s Revolving Fund). Grant funds are usually considered restricted, that is, they can be legally used ONLY for the purposes set forth in the grant application and agreed to by the grant maker. They can never be absorbed into the district s general budget or taken by another school or department. Grant project managers will have access to reports from the Accounting Office on the amount of money that has been spent to date from a grant. If you do not use up all of an awarded grant in a timely fashion, the Accounting Office will contact you and develop a plan to expend the funds. As a general rule, BVSD does not like to return un-used grant funds! Page 10

2 F. Are There Any Rules About WHAT We Can Apply For? Yes, a few. The provisions of Board Policy KH and KH-R, which cover gifts to the schools, also apply to grants. If your grant will be used to employ personnel, please review this policy carefully before writing or submitting your grant. Consult your level supervisor if in any doubt about how this policy applies to your situation. Failure to do so can result in the district declining a grant that you have put a lot of work into. G. Are There Any Rules About WHO We Can Apply To? Yes, a few. Board Policy DD states that the opportunity to competitively apply for a grant must be available to all district schools under the same eligibility criteria if a grant is to be used for district personnel. What this means is that schools or departments may not receive grants from privileged sources in order to fund staff positions. Example: No BVSD elementary schools currently have full-time counselors. You believe one is needed at your school. You happen to mention this to your great aunt Lila, who heads one of the largest foundations in America, and it is one that generally does not give money to individual schools. However, in this case, she says she would be delighted to give your school a grant to fund the position. NOT ALLOWED. Realistically, other BVSD schools could not compete for Aunt Lila s money on the same basis. BVSD schools and programs may not accept direct funding from companies engaged in the manufacture and sale of tobacco, alcohol or firearms, Grants from private foundations associated with such companies (i.e. an employee charitable fund, a family foundation) may be acceptable if they are made on a strictly philanthropic (non-self-interested, non-promotional) basis. Grants from organizations seeking to promote a religious or political cause through their grant making are strongly discouraged. Page 11

3 H. About The Exceptions GRANTS GUIDE Applications to IMPACT on EDUCATION are not subject to district review because Impact on Education has its own review process, and the purpose of their grants has already been determined to be consistent with district and community interests. BVSD administrators have regular communication with IMPACT on Education and sit on its board, so the organizations have common goals. Grants that are written on behalf of BVSD schools and programs by outside organizations, school booster clubs, or PTA s with their own tax-exempt status are not subject to district review or financial management. (Example 1: Thorne Ecological Institute writes a grant for classroom environmental ed programs. They will receive the grant and manage the program. NOT SUBJECT TO REVIEW. Example 2: Hypothetical High School Athletic Boosters has incorporated as a nonprofit organization with tax-exempt status. They receive a grant from the Denver Post for athletic equipment. NOT SUBJECT TO REVIEW. But caution: the booster club may not make guarantees regarding the display of promotional items, logos, signage, sponsorship items on school property, facilities or students. The club, not BVSD, is the owner of the equipment and responsible for insurance, and replacement when the equipment gets old. Example 3: A group of parents at an elementary school want to build a climbing wall, and apply to the REI Foundation. The PTO makes the application. SUBJECT TO REVIEW: PTO s (vs PTA s) do not have separate nonprofit status and must use the district s tax exempt status to shelter the grant application. For projects like this, that impact a school s building or grounds, please work closely with the district Operations Division starting in the early planning stages. I. Authorized Signatures for Grant Applications The Superintendent, Cynthia Stevenson, Ph.D. and/or the President of the Board of Education (currently Sam Fuqua) are the ONLY authorized officials for grants or contracts that result from grants. Principals and program directors are authorized only to sign for grants of $2,500 or less. If a grant requires the signature of an authorized official, please submit it in FULL, with an explanatory note or memo, to the with at least 48 hours leeway. If the full grant is not available (i.e. you are pushing a deadline), send the signature page only with a memorandum summarizing the purposes and amount of the grant. Correct names & titles: Cynthia Stevenson, Ph.D., Superintendent Sam Fuqua, President Occasionally a grant requires the name and/or signature of a fiscal agent. In such cases, please use: Justin Petrone, C.P.A., Director of Finance & Accounting J. Support Letters The will assist applicants needing a letter of support from the Superintendent, Board President, or other district official. If you need such a letter to accompany your grant, please contact the with at least 3-4 days advance Page 12

4 notice. Contact us via , providing enough information for staff to be clear about who you are and what you need. (Your name, name of school or program; address information (name of person and organization to whom letter is to be addressed, mailing address) and either a draft text for the letter or a list of points to be made.) Provide a phone number and address for contact in case their are questions. The signed letter can either be ed or picked up at the Ed Center. K. Contracts with Grant Makers If a contract is issued by the grantmaker for a grant over $2,500, submit the unsigned original(s) to the. We will obtain legal review, if needed, and the correct signature. Provided your grant has already been reviewed and approved by the district (see D above), processing will be expedient. For grants <$2,500, the principal or program director may sign. If a contract will be issued to a consultant, service-provider, or other business entity as a result of a grant, schools and district departments must use standard formats developed by BVSD s Legal Counsel. These provide the necessary legal protections for the school/district. Contact the Procurement Help Desk or Office of Legal Counsel for a copy of the appropriate contract template. As a general rule: ONLY the Superintendent and Board President are authorized to sign major contracts, memoranda of understanding, or letters of agreement which reflect legal commitments between an outside entity and the school district. A school or a district department does not have legal standing to enter into such agreements independently, except as noted above. K. Intent To Apply The process insures that the district is aware of and approves the purpose, amount and action plan of large grants. Sometimes these grants have legal or fiscal implications that may not be readily apparent to a non-professional grant writer. And in some cases, the district is allowed only one application under a particular program, therefore must insure that there are no conflicts. If you are planning to write a grant for more than $25,000, one going to a federal/state agency, or one that requires cash-matching funds, you must submit an Intent to Apply form to the district grants office. Please submit this at least 4 weeks prior to the grant deadline. The form is available at the Grants page of the BVSD website use the A-Z reference on BVSD s main page to find the Grants page. If you do not have complete information at that point, just do your best in filling out the form. The form may be filled out electronically or by hand. It may be ed, faxed, or mailed to the. If you decide later not to apply, you do not have to do anything. If you decide to postpone your application to a later date, it is probably not necessary to resubmit the Intent to Apply, unless your project has changed significantly. What happens to the form: The reviews it and will contact you if we see any obvious problems or have questions. We will let you know if anyone else in BVSD is planning at application to the same source at the same time. The information on the form will be shared with head of the supervising district department, and then possibly the Superintendent s Cabinet (Chief Academic Officer, Assistant Superintendents, and heads Page 13

5 of Legal, HR, & Operations) This ensures that district leadership is aware of it and agrees with its purposes. The or a department head will contact you if there are serious questions or objections to your proposal (rare). See the next pages for an example of the Intent to Apply Form filled out. Page 14

6 Received Date Routed Date Approved Yes No Applicant Notified Grants & Special Projects Intent To Apply Form Please print legibly or fill out electronically. Submit form to the BVSD 4 weeks prior to actual grant application. PHONE: FAX: Your Name & Position (Contact Person(s)) Jane Doe, Reading Specialist School or Department Hypothetical Elementary School Telephone jane.doe@bvsd.org Tentative Project Name Reading Immersion Project Funder Name (i.e. where you re going to apply for a grant) Mile High Reading Foundation, Denver, CO Does funder allow indirect costs?! Yes! No! Don t Know Deadline for Application (date) Accepts rolling applications Population Directly Served By Grant Project (approx # and characteristics) 60 students in grades 1-3 at Hypothetical Elementary School who are below grade level in reading Anticipated Amount of Grant Request $29,000 Total Project Budget if Greater $ 35,000 Other anticipated sources of funding (keystroke x in box) Briefly describe your project and how funds will be used:! BVSD In-Kind Matching (existing personnel, facilities, materials already in budget)! BVSD Cash Matching (need the district/school to allocate new funds to this project) Please provide a thorough explanation if matching funds are REQUIRED. " Other grants (list funder and amount, and indicate whether these funds have been secured at this time, or these are applications pending/planned): Our PTA has already received $3,000 from the XYZ corporation for this project. We plan to apply to the Trump Family Foundation for a $3,000 grant to complete the budget. We will establish an after-school literacy program providing reading enrichment for struggling readers. It will meet twice a week for one hour throughout the school year. Three of our regular teachers will provide the tutoring; they will each be supported by two tutors or paraprofessionals. The grant will pay for personnel costs plus books, instructional supplies, and a 2-year license for the READING-IS-GREAT software. The activities are expected to bring a significant proportion of the targeted students up to grade level by the end of the year. The cost per student ($500) is modest in relation to this result. This project is responsive to the following BVSD Goals (check all that apply): Boulder Valley School District will Boulder Valley School District will partner with students, families, staff, ensure that each student meets or and community members to address exceeds appropriate expectations x x the unique learning needs of each relative to intellectual growth, physical student and to create meaningful and development and social emotional engaging opportunities for each child. well-being. Boulder Valley School District will ensure that students, families, staff, and community members experience a safe, healthy and inclusive environment. I certify that the information provided accurately reflects the planned grant application: 7/15/2015 Signature* of Project Director or Grant Writer! by I have reviewed this Intent to Apply and agree with the stated intentions: Date Mary Jones 7/15/2015 Signature* of Principal or Program Director Date " by Page 15

7 Section 3: Grant Budgets This section provides guidance on how to develop a budget for a grant. It includes information on costs that the district requires included in a grant budget, guidance on how to develop and present a budget or budget narrative, and information on certain standard BVSD cost rates. A. Required Costs Certain items must be included in any grant written for BVSD and its schools. If salaries will be paid out of a grant (whether a regular staff position, a substitute, extra-duty, or a stipend), applicable benefits must be paid with the salary out of the grant. Section E below describes how to apply this rule. DO NOT LUMP PAY AND BENEFITS TOGETHER INTO ONE LINE ITEM IN YOUR BUDGET. Contrary to popular belief, SOME benefits are paid for all positions, even if the person is working less than 20 hours per week. Salary rates for all teachers, paraprofessionals, tutors, clerical and service staff are negotiated annually or semi-annually between BVSD and these employees professional associations. Grant budgets must strictly honor these agreements and not diverge from negotiated rates. DO NOT invent new salary rates. Do not pay contractor fees to people who are already employed by BVSD without Board authorization. Salary and fee rates for all personnel must be reasonable and defensible. See Section E below for guidance. Indirect costs must be included in the grant budget unless they are specifically not allowed by the grant maker. Indirect costs apply to all direct grant expenses EXCEPT capital improvements (buildings/facilities) and major equipment (this does not include computer technology). Section E below shows how to calculate indirect costs. B. Developing a Grant Budget Grant makers may require a budget form, summarizing all of the expenses that make up the project or grant request, or they may ask you to provide this in your own format. They may also require a budget narrative providing line item detail and more explanation or rationale regarding the need for the expense. An ordinary reader should be able to connect each item in your budget to the grant s narrative. Some examples of grant budgets are shown on the following pages. Different grants may require presentation of the same information in different ways categorizing or grouping expenses differently, for example. When working on a grant application, it is a good idea to start developing the budget early in the writing process, as the budget itself may prompt you to include certain items in the text, and vice versa. It is generally best to start with a line item budget, specifying everything that will be paid out of a grant. It may help Page 16

8 to start by asking yourself a series of questions, and then putting numbers to the answers. Will the grant establish any new staff positions? If so, will they be fulltime, or part-time, and if part-time, how many hours per week? Will existing staff be paid for extra-duty assignments or overtime? Will an existing part-time position be expanded to full-time, triggering full benefits? (See Section E below) Are extra support staff needed (clerical, admin, maintenance)? Does the proposed program require any training for staff or students? If so, how many days/hours; who will provide it; if it s professional development, will staff be paid for these days, or substitutes hired; are any materials needed? Will any independent contractors be hired to fulfill parts of the project? (Consultants, trainers, specialists, technicians, etc) Are any conference or licensing fees involved? Will the project require formal evaluation, and if so, who will perform the evaluation? What materials and supplies are needed? Consider items needed to execute the program (textbooks, software, notebooks, copying), and also office supplies and hospitality for meetings. Is any travel required? Local travel for staff, bus travel for students, or airfare and hotel to attend conferences/training/etc. Is any additional equipment or building costs needed to implement the project (equipment costing over $5,000 and usable over 5 years or more; this does not include computers, which are considered supplies because their lifespan is usually less than 5 years,) As you develop your budget, it extremely helpful to use a computer spreadsheet such as Excel to insure that the math is correct. Round to the nearest dollar. This simplifies calculations. D. Examples The budget narrative on the next page shows a fairly simple, multi-year grant budget, in which the grant pays all of the costs associated with the project. (This shows enough detail to satisfy most private sector foundations or government agencies for smaller grants.) If you need additional guidance on writing a budget, please contact Christine Kennedy in Accounting (see extensions below), or Bee Valacek in the. Page 17

9 GRANTS GUIDE Example Budget Narrative (adapted from a School Counselor Corps grant for Nederland Middle-Senior High School 2015) Page 18

10 E. Current BVSD Standard Cost Rates & Other Useful Information Please use the following standard rates when preparing a grant budget. This section is updated annually. If your copy seems out-of-date, please the to request a newer version. Standard Budget & Accounting Information and Forms Information: BVSD has many standard forms related to budget and accounting. Find them here: Indirect costs At time of publication, the indirect cost rate is 6.17%. Effective date: 7/17 Expected date of next change: 7/18 "" Calculate indirect costs by sub-totaling all other non-equipment cash costs, and multiplying this subtotal by OR... If working backwards from a fixed amount (e.g. the maximum you can apply for is $3,000; therefore you need to calculate the indirect costs so you know how much is left over for program activities): "" Divide the total amount of the grant by Subtract the resulting number from the total. The result is the amount available to budget for the grant program. Local Mileage (reimbursement) BVSD uses the current IRS approved mileage rate. At the time of publication, the mileage rate is: 53.5 per mile This is the IRS official rate. Due to fluctuations in fuel prices, rates may change during the year without notice. Check with Accounting for updates. Effective date: 7/17 Expected date of next change: TBD Bus Transportation If extra buses will be needed for grant-funded district activities or events, calculate $19.94/hr for bus driver time plus $1.04/mile for district activities and events, regardless of destination. (For non-district organizations, the bus driver rate is $37.12/hr +$1.31/mi). There is a flat rate surcharge of $30.34 per bus. Buses should be ordered at least 14 days prior to the trip. Trip hours are 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, or after 4:30 p.m. Trip cancellations need to be submitted at least 2 full business days in advance or they will be charged a rate of 90%. Inform Transportation of any changes by calling: Page 19

11 Staff Salaries GRANTS GUIDE If existing staff will be paid out of a grant: unless you have access to payroll information on the Lawson system, please contact the Human Resources Department or Accounting for specific salaries, wage rates or ranges for positions BEFORE writing your grant or drawing up a budget. Use a generous estimate of FTE or hours in your budget. DO NOT INVENT SALARIES FOR NEW POSITIONS. Pay derived from grants, like pay from other resources, must be fair, equitable, and commensurate with similar positions. If you will be paying a project director or coordinator out of a grant, and this person will be on payroll rather than an independent contractor, PLEASE contact HR to draw up a job description and establish pay prior to submitting your grant. Include benefits in the budget. The common practice of simply estimating that a job is worth $45,000/yr, $60,000/yr or something else tends to make problems later, esp. if the grantwriter underestimates. For new licensed or hourly positions (currently existing job titles) where you do not know who will be filling the position: use mid-range figures from the current salary/wage schedules. Current ( ) mid-ranges are cited below. Teachers (Step J MA + 24) 196 days* $ 79,408 TOSA s (Coaches, Teachers on Special Assignment) (Step M MA+36) $ 88,484 Psychologists Social Workers (Step K MA+24) $ 80,997 Clerical (12 months, Range D, Step 5 pro-rate for 11 or 10 mo) $ 41,100 Paraeducators (Step 4 instructional) $ 14.47/hr Paraprofessionals (Step SSA Level 2 Step 4) $ 18.20/hr Educational Interpreters (SSA Level 3 Step 4) $ 24.37/hr Native Language Tutors (Step 2) $ 18.61/hr Academic Tutors (General) $ 14.51/hr For positions not listed here, or detail on these, see: THESE SALARY RATES DO NOT INCLUDE BENEFITS, which are required for all positions, full or part time. Generally, new positions must be posted competitively; therefore, if a specific person is expected or desired to fill a new grant-funded position, please contact HR and discuss this with them BEFORE submitting your grant. When projecting salaries for a multi-year grant, use at least 5.0% increase in salary each year for steps/col increases per year for licensed, clerical, and support personnel. For other positions, about 4.0% is currently sufficient. Page 20

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13 Extra-duty pay or stipends GRANTS GUIDE Extra-duty pay applies only to teachers, TOSA s, psychiatrists, counselors and social workers. A stipend paid to a current employee is considered extra duty, even if delivered as a lump sum payment based upon estimated rather than actual hours. WHEN BUDGETING EXTRA-DUTY, USE THE NEGOTIATED RATES. DO NOT OFFER OR ATTEMPT TO PAY TEACHERS MORE OR LESS THAN THE NEGOTIATED RATE, i.e. OFF THE SCHEDULE. This is a serious violation of district personnel policy. The current rate for curriculum development and in-service professional development is $ 32.22/hour. Different rates apply for coaching sports and student activities. See the BVSD website: for detailed information. BENEFITS MUST BE PAID ON ALL EXTRA DUTY OR STIPEND PAY SEE BELOW FOR RATES. Building administrators working beyond their regular work year (i.e. 210, 220 or 230 days) in fulfillment of a grant-funded project may receive extra pay under a grant at their per diem base rate of compensation. Extra pay must be approved IN ADVANCE through a separate written request to the Superintendent. Such work must clearly be outside the normal responsibilities of a principal and represent an extension of the administrator s work year. Central Office administrators and most professional-technical employees are considered exempt and therefore may not receive additional pay for work under a grant if they are already full-time, unless they are performing work that is significantly different than their regular assignment and they become qualified through the Purchasing Department as an independent contractor. Overtime Overtime applies to all employees who are paid hourly. Any clerical, service, or paraprofessional staff working more than 40 hours per week must be paid at 1.5 times their normal hourly rate, even if the job assignment is different. BENEFITS MUST BE PAID ON ALL OVERTIME PAY SEE BELOW FOR RATES. Page 22

14 Lump sum payments are discouraged for work on grant projects outside of regular hours as pay equity can easily become distorted. (Example: Principal offers clerical staff $2,000 to work 2 hours on Saturdays for 20 weeks as office receptionist while a special project is underway. Sounds reasonable, but actually not fair. If this person normally works full-time and makes $21/hour, they would make $1,260 in OT for this work. Does this work really deserve $800 more than other employees would make for the same thing?) Benefits Full employee benefits apply to all BVSD employees working more than 20 hours per week. Full benefits include employer-paid Medicare, PERA, Medical, Long term Disability, Flexible Benefit Savings, Dental and Life insurance. Partial benefits apply to ALL employee pay, regardless of the hours worked. These include Medicare, PERA, and Long Term Disability (Workman s Comp). Use the Budget Office s Benefits Calculator to streamline your work: Position Control - TO CALCULATE BENEFITS FOR GRANT BUDGETS (2017 RATES): FULL TIME PERSONNEL (20+ HRS/WK): Fixed Health, Dental, Life Insurance, Flex Benefit: $7,166 + PLUS Pay x.2178 (PERA, LTD, Medicare) Example: Employee will make $34,560 at 1.0 FTE under the grant: Benefits will therefore be: PLUS.2178 x $34,560 = Total benefits $7,166/yr $7,527/yr $14,693/yr If a person is working only part of a year (e.g. it s a six-month appointment), then the fixed portion of the benefit is paid only during that six months. However, if the person is working only partial FTE ( FTE) during the entire year, full fixed benefits are paid, and not pro-rated. If a person s FTE is split between multiple budgets, then all benefits are pro-rated proportionally to each budget. PART-TIME PERSONNEL( < 20 HRS/WK): Pay x.2178 (PERA, LTD, Medicare) Example: Employee will make $13,450 at 0.20 FTE under the grant: Benefits will therefore be: Page 23

15 .2178 x $13,450 = $2,929 Total benefits $2,929 BE CAREFUL: Additional benefits may need to be paid if the person has been working less than 20 hours per week prior to a new, additional grant assignment that puts them over the 20 hrs/wk threshold. Call Human Resources to double check if you have any doubts about a person s status. EXTRA-DUTY OR OVERTIME Pay x.2160 (PERA, Medicare only LTD is not paid) Example: Employee will work 20 hours of extra-duty at the curriculum rate of $32.22/hour, or $644 total, under the grant: Benefits will therefore be:.2160 x $644 = $139 Total benefits on extra-duty pay $139 Example: Employee will work 500 hours of regular time plus 20 hours of overtime, all to be paid out of a grant. This person is a regular, full-time employee. Regular rate of pay is $20/hr. Calculation: a. 500 hrs divided by total hours/yr (2080) (FTE)=.24 b. % times fixed benefit costs (.24 x $7,166) = $ 1,720 c. total regular pay ($20/hr x 500 hrs) = $ 10,000 d. variable benefit cost/regular pay.2178 x (c) $ 2,178 f. overtime pay (1.5 x $20/hr x 20 hrs) = $ 600 g. overtime benefits.2160 x (f) = $ 130 h. TOTAL BENEFITS (b) + (d) + (g) = $ 4,028 Please contact the Accounting Office if you need help calculating benefits or if a person s time will be split between two positions at different rates of pay/status. Contractors Fee for Service Work There is no standard rate for contractors. An hourly, daily or per-job rate should be specified in the grant budget. Rates must be reasonable and customary. Please check with the Procurement Department or HR department prior to finalizing your budget to ensure that your thinking is sound. Bids are normally required for contracts exceeding $5,000. Contractors do not receive employee benefits. BVSD s legal office has created standard formats for contracts contact them or the Procurement Department to receive a template. Page 24

16 If you wish to hire someone who is already working on staff for BVSD as a contractor, their contract work must be substantially different than their regular duties, and they must be approved as a contractor by the Purchasing Department and the Board of Education. If duties are similar, then (depending on the classification and number of hours already worked) regular pay, over-time, or extra-duty pay rates may apply; in the case of administrators and exempt staff, NO extra pay may be indicated. Substitute pay & benefits Full day: $ Compensation Half day: $ Compensation $ Benefits $ Benefits $ Full Day Total $ Half Day Total In-Kind Note: Extra-duty pay for teachers is now substantially higher (on an hourly basis) than substitute pay. If you are constructing a grant budget that includes professional development, and are not sure whether the training will occur during school time, or outside of the school day/year, then use the higher extra-duty/stipend rate to insure that you have enough funds budgeted. Volunteer time and facilities costs are often used to show an in-kind matching contribution from the grant applicant. You can use the following numbers to assign a value: Volunteer Time: $25.97/hr (Source: Independent Sector, Colorado 2016) Facilities: $36/hr per classroom 2017 commercial rate Please call the Community Schools Office ( ) for rules regarding use of BVSD facilities and rates for areas other than classrooms, or see the BVSD web site. Page 25